1. Cath's Corner2. In the Tip Store - Cheapest Ever Mirror & Glass Cleaner, How to Get the Last Drop of Mayo, Save on Gift Giving with Discounted Vouchers3. Cheapskate's Winning Tip - Save a Bundle with Second-hand MCNs!4. Submit Your Tip - Enter your favourite money, time and energy saving tip here5. Living Green in 2014 - Something New from Something Used6. On the Menu with Anne - A No Spending Month Menu7. The $300 a Month Food Challenge with Wendy - The Importance of the Shopping List8. Cheapskates Buzz - Cheapskaters are talking in the Forum and on Cath's blog9. Member's Featured Blog - PoM to the Rescue - Joyofquilting10. Last Week's Question - How to keep the cat tray fresh?11. This Week's Question - Natural hair dye solution12. Join the Cheapskates Club13. Gift Memberships14. Frequently Asked Questions15. Contact Details

1. Cath's Corner

I hope you're all having a great week and remembering not to spend!

I get a lot of tips submitted for the tip store. Some of them stand out straight away as brilliant, others are more subtle. Some create an enormous amount of interest, while others don't rate a mention. I know they are all viewed often though. I know because I can check the page stats. I also know because you email me to tell me, just like Beth has.

"Hi Cath, just tried the boiled egg suggestion - wow, what a great tip - easiest eggs to peel ever - pass on my thanks to the person who gave you that tip. Cheers," Beth.

PPS: You can read this newsletter and past copies on the website in the Newsletter Archive.

2. From The Tip Store

Cheapest Ever Mirror & Glass CleanerI have a lot of mirrors and glass in the house and have spent a lot during the year on paper towels and glass cleaner. And still didn't manage to get them squeaky clean. While in the hair salon, I asked the owner how they keep their mirrors so pristine! The answer surprised me. A plastic spray bottle full of water and old newspapers! Simply spray the glass or mirror, then crumple up a sheet of newspaper and clean it. It's fast, easy, doesn't leave streaks or lint. Shower stalls look brand new. No soap scum or water marks on the glass. I now collect the free local papers delivered and save them.Contributed by Mary Piper

How to Get the Last Drop of MayoApproximate $ Savings: Satisfaction :)

My husband only likes a very expensive brand of mayonnaise and it irked me that I could never seem to get the last bit out of the jar. By accident, because the fridge was full, I lay the mayo jar down on its side in the pull out section of the fridge and voila, the mayo settles in one place and easy to retrieve.Contributed by Hazel Cameron

Save on gift giving. Sometimes gift cards are on sale in supermarkets. Buy one when it's on sale and then redeem it yourself to buy a gift. I wanted to buy my husband a flying lesson for a big birthday. At $300 though it was too much. I found 'Red Balloon' gift cards were 20% off at Woolworths. So I bought $300 worth of gift cards at 20% off. I redeemed the voucher myself, getting the $300 flight for $240.Contributed by Rebecca Takac

This week's winning tip is from Lynette Morgan. Lynette has won a one year Platinum Cheapskates Club membership for submitting her winning tip.

Save a Bundle with Second-hand MCNs!

Approximate $ saving: $1,800 in 15 months

With our first baby I went straight back to work and he was in disposable nappies from birth, mainly for my convenience. When baby No. 2 was on her way we decided I'd stay home (childcare was going to send us broke, I was tired and we'd manage on DH's pay if we stuck to Cheapskating). With that in mind I decided to give cloth nappies a go. The old fashioned terry squares didn't appeal but I loved the idea of MCNs - modern cloth nappies. They are an all-in-one solution for cloth nappies, but the price! Ouch! They start at around $20 each and just go up in price. Buying new nappies all at once was way out of my budget, even with the dollar saving over time. Then a friend suggested I try to source some second-hand. Doh! I hadn't even thought of going second-hand! I bought 5 nappies (brand name, Australian) and inserts from a friend for $30 and then spent some time online and bought another six with a couple of extra bamboo inserts and covers for a total of $85. They are all in fantastic condition and I've been happily using them for 9 weeks now with absolutely no complaints. I may have spent $115 but I've already saved $20 by not buying disposables! I expect to not spend around $1,800 until No. 2 is toilet trained! If you've never tried them, do, they'll save you a bundle.

Congratulations Lynette, I hope you enjoy your Cheapskates Club membership.

4. Submit your tip

The Cheapskate's Club website is over 3,000 pages of money saving hints, tips and ideas. Let's get together and make the Cheapskates Club Australia's largest online hint, tip and idea library. Share your favourite money saving, time saving or energy saving hint and be in the running to win a one-year membership to The Cheapskate Club. We publish a Winning Tip each Thursday, so enter your great money, time or energy saving idea now.Share your favourite hint or tip that saves money, time and energy and be in the running to win a one-year subscription to The Cheapskate Journal.

A long time ago, about 25 years, I took up a new hobby. It was so much fun and best of all it was really cheap and made me very aware of using something old to make something new. I learned to make paper using newspaper, magazines and junk mail.

It was so much fun, and really so easy.

Start by collecting your newspapers, magazines and junk mail. Try to keep like paper together, it gives a better end result.

When you have a nice neat stack, shred the newspaper and put the pieces into a large, plastic washing-up tub until it's about two-thirds full. Pour water into the strips just until they are submerged. Mush and stir the paper with your hands, like you're making a meatloaf, then leave it to soak for several hours. Then give it a good mix again. It should be soft and pulpy.

Mix the pulp with a stick blender, pouring the blended paper-water mixture into a separate container. Then, into the now-empty tub, pour a few inches of water. Stir a tablespoon of white glue (Aquadhere or similar) into the water.

Sit a screen down into the water - you can make one by stretching nylon over a wooden frame, or you can use an old fly screen. I use fly screen, it's easier to manage.

Spread a cup or so of the paper pulp over the screen while it is under the water. Lift the screen out of the water, let it drain, then turn it pulp-side-down onto an old towel. The pulp will stick to the towel when you lift the screen off. Lay another towel over the pulp, then iron the top towel. This helps dry out the pulp.

After a day or two, the pulp will be thoroughly dry, and you can peel it off the towel and cut it into the shapes and sizes you want.

Handmade paper can be used for cards, gift cards, note paper. It makes lovely invitations too.

6. On the Menu with Anne

A No Spending Month Menu

This week everything we eat is coming from our garden, fridge, freezer or pantry. I'm not even going near a supermarket, the corner shop or my greengrocer. And the butcher will have to miss me too!

There are a couple of reasons for this:1. it's No Spend month and I want to join the challenge 2. we have a house full of perfectly good food, there's no need to bring in any more3. I'm hoping to be able to put $80 into our holiday fund. That's about what I would normally spend at this time of year for our groceries.

To do this without anyone feeling deprived I had to do pantry and freezer inventories, followed by a very careful and detailed meal plan. I listed the meals, then next to them the ingredients. If an ingredient was missing, a suitable substitute had to be found. I used the Simple Substitutes tip sheet to find any I didn't already know. And if I didn't have anything suitable to substitute in the house I chose a new meal.

I've made the flat bread for the souvlakis tomorrow night and put them in the freezer. For the Refrigerator Lasagne on Thursday I'll make the pasta fresh Thursday morning because I don't have any lasagne sheets in the house.

To manage the milk I'll make up powdered milk and mix 50:50 with the fresh milk to make it last. The bread maker will get a workout this week. I know my boys and if they can't find bread they'll know I'm up to something. Keeping the bread bin full will keep them happy.

By the end of the week the fridge will be well and truly cleaned out, the freezer will be on it's way down and my purse should be a little heavier. This week's No Spending meal plan is:

In the cake tin: Crunchy chocolate slice, sultana cake, gingerbreadThere are over 1,300 other great money saving meal ideas in the Recipe File

7. The $300 a Month Food Challenge with Wendy

Hi everyone.

Having an organised and planned shopping list is an important part of the $300 food challenge. Have you ever tried to do your food shopping without a list? It's hard isn't it? You can't possibly remember everything you need to buy. I forgot my list once and I was in a state of panic when I realised. My mind froze, so all I bought were the basic groceries. I finished my shopping the next day with my list in hand and my mind at ease. Never again will I try that stunt.

To write an organised list you need to start with a pen and paper. You can always type it up on the computer later and print it out. Divide your list into sections for each store you buy from. You might have a section for a few supermarkets, the fruit and veg shop and the butcher. Then scan your menu plan and write down the ingredients you need to make those meals.

Check your pantry/fridge and freezer to see what you are running low on. This is where your inventories come in handy. You can check them for groceries you only buy a few times a year like herbs and spices.

Add your regular grocery items to the list like milk, butter, cream, eggs etc. Make sure you add a few extra of each of these so that you don't run out. Beside each item on your list write the quantities needed. No point in just writing down that you need eggs. How many dozen do you think you'll for the time frame you are shopping for?

The day before you go shopping check your list again. Have you forgotten something? Do you still need everything on the list? Are the quantities right? These questions are important. It could be the difference between having everything you need or running out or forgetting something. If this happens you might end up at the shops for one item.

If need be, write your list again if it has too many crossing outs. It's also handy to write the groceries in approximate order of where they are in the supermarket. Having your list neat, tidy and planned will make shopping a breeze.

Platinum Cheapskates Club members have their very own Cheapskating blogs, and they are wonderful and inspirational and encouraging and even funny. This week's featured blog is written by Joyofquilting.

PoM to the Rescue!I always get confused as to what the emergency and POM accounts are for, but to recap. Last year we saw a house we would love to buy but it would take all the savings DH had instead of super (an inheritance we'd added to) and we'd need a mortgage, so I started a separate savings account as a fall back for an emergency. It is now just over $5,000. Well we got out bid at auction and didn't move, DH decided to put most of the money into blue chip shares, which are less redeemable than bank accounts but should fast track the retirements.

I was happy with this as my Prin retired at the end of the year and I don't know who will get the job. A business manager has a very close relationship with the Prin, it's a bit like a marriage, they run the school, deal with kids and parents plan wonderful educational things etc, and I make sure we don't go broke doing it, so I just hope I get on well with the new one. My fund was in case I didn't and had to leave before I got another job, at least I'd know we'd be right in an emergency.

Well still haven't got a new Prin -DEECD is a bit like the mills of God time wise-, but the ducted air conditioner died while we were away so we got a man out when we got back- new motor over $1000! We need the air as it makes life easier for the CFS which tends to have periods of night sweats and hot flushes that last days sometimes (DH and one daughter both have it). It felt so good to say to him when he was worried about the cost, "I've saved this money in a separate account for this sort of thing, tell the man to order it and get it in."

Thanks Cheapskates for the motivation. I know we have our regular savings/backup but this was specially saved for this.

Last week's question was from Scott who wrote "Can anyone tell me what I can add to Kitty Litter to reduce or get rid of the ammonia smell from the cats urine. Also does anyone make their own Kitty Litter. If so how?"

Olivia McAllister answeredI found buying kitty litter from the supermarket far too expensive, even with one cat. I buy a bale of wood shavings at a cost of around $15 and it lasts me approximately 4 months. Wood shavings can usually be bought from pet shops, or somewhere that has horse supplies. Because I live in a regional area I get it from W.B. Hunters. Hope this helps, another thought was the yellow pages, maybe you could find something listed there. It sure is worth the effort.

Bronwyn Shirley answeredHi Scott, use bicarb soda, it works a treat. I sprinkle it in the bottom of the tray, put the litter in and sprinkle some on the top of the litter too. I use Breeders Choice environmentally friendly, low odour litter and stock up from City Farmers when it's on special - it is more expensive but I find the litter doesn't need changing as often as using cheap concrete based litter.

Lia Bretag answeredHi Scott I buy crystals in bulk. They are more expensive than other brands, however, they are also much more absorbent and much longer lasting. Here is the URL http://www.petbarn.com.au/cats/cat-litter-trays-accessories/litter/trouble-trix-angel-silica-litter-1.html

Heather Diss answered We use shredded newspaper for kitty litter and change it everyday and give the tray a rinse each day. It doesn't take long and is free as the newspaper we use is also the free one delivered every week. You could also put some bi-carb soda in the bottom to absorb the smell.

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15. Contact Details

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